Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino admission: 'I f--ked up!'

ROME — Moments after the doomed Costa Concordia cruise ship struck rocks off the island of Giglio in January, the captain put a call into one of his superiors: “Roberto, I f–ked up!” he said, according to a black box transcript published by an Italian newspaper. “Look, I’m dying here, don’t tell me anything.”

The revelation comes after Captain Francesco Schettino’s first full TV interview since the January 13 accident. During the talk on Italy’s Canale 5, Schettino claimed another officer was steering the ship when the accident occurred.

“At that moment, I went up to the deck and ordered the ship to be put on manual navigation and I didn’t have command, that’s to say being in charge of sailing the ship, that was the officer,” he said.

The black box transcript published by the Corriere della Sera newspaper shows the panic that ensued immediately after the trouble began.

“Our ass is dragging along the seabed!” one officer yelled.

“What did we hit?” Schettino asked.

“The reef.”

“It was the salute that he wanted,” said a third officer.

“The salute” was a maneuver Schettino allegedly agreed to perform to acknowledge a former crew mate on the island.

The Costa Concordia was carrying 4,229 people from dozens of countries when it struck the rocks and slowly keeled over, prompting a chaotic nighttime evacuation. Thirty-two people died.

A court hearing in the investigation into the wreck “will probably be delayed until September,” said chief prosecutor Francesco Verusio. It was initially scheduled for July 21.

I imagine that soon after that, in October or November, we will be able to close our investigation and then we will request a trial to start at the beginning of next year

The results of technical analysis of the black box and other instruments on the ship are due to be revealed at the hearing and will shed light on the details of the accident on the night of January 13 off the Italian coast.

“I imagine that soon after that, in October or November, we will be able to close our investigation and then we will request a trial to start at the beginning of next year,” Verusio said.

Nine people are under investigation including captain Francesco Schettino, four other crew members and three executives from ship owner Costa Crociere, Europe’s biggest cruise operator.